Volume 6 December 2001
St. Somewhere Times Technology is a constant problem here! There is just no way to keep a website on our school server. The man in charge of the school computer system does not know how to update the site. I feel like screaming sometimes. My classroom website is about four times the size of this site (YES, FOUR TIMES AS LARGE) and I cannot change or update it. The answer flows so easily off the lips of most people... "it must be a virus!" Most of the import teachers have lost patience with the school. The number one rule for technology at school is not to expect anything. The net is on and off regularly. Why? There are so many reasons. Most of the solutions are laughable, frustratingly difficult to handle, and reach into the realm of almost impossible due to where we are. Sorry I am so vague. A good example would be the idea of keeping the school computers on all of the time. The biggest problem is with the city. The power is alternating, prone to surges, and frequently not even available. The solutions come down to money. They always do. So we pick our battles in the technology meetings.
Copy this Copy that. Not exactly. Many schools, in the States, have a system of copying that requires the teachers to use a code and make their own copies. The copy machines are maintained by the vendors or the secretaries. If a teacher is making too many copies or using the copier for inappropriate materials their privilege is taken away, or at least monitored. Surprise, at EIS the copy system is vastly different. We have the copy guys! They work out of their own office in the library and service the high school, elementary school, and the administration. We never touch the copy machines. We have to track down a specific person for a signature, take the masters to the copy center, and either wait there or come back later.
A Trip to Pulhapanzak (A Waterfall) Honduras is definitely a country of hidden treasures. I have read about Pulhapanzak, planned on going last year, and heard about other teachers going there. However, I never got the feeling for how truly amazing it is. Just think of a waterfall that falls 443 meters! A friend and colleague named Eucebio drove Donut, Jim, Leah, Eucebio' s two kids, and I about an hour from San Pedro Sula south towards Tegucigalpa. If you look at a map, the falls are located about 17km from the Lake Yojoa. Like most other attractions in Honduras, this natural attraction was deserted. We pulled into the park entrance (this happens to be PRIVATELY owned) and were the only vehicle in sight. In fact, there were only two scary dudes hanging out by the car as we left for the falls so we took anything valuable with us.
Page 1
Volume 6 December 2001 As you enter this park you notice there is a restaurant with a patio, picnic tables around, and some welcome signs. None the less, we were not greeted by throngs of tourists and cameras or herded along a trail by a guide. Instead, Eucebio' s daughter stayed behind at the swimming hole to watch our stuff and we followed Eucebio down the not-so-safe trail. When I say "not-so-safe" I mean downright dangerous. The first thing that comes to mind is: "this just would not be possible in the states!". No way. It is a double-edged sword. You may not have to follow the tour guide with the plastic name badge and canned tour in 12 languages they have memorized to make minimum wage, but it would be easy to slip down the trail and break a leg or worse! We were hanging onto vines, climbing down muddy slippery rocks, and keeping watch on the path taken by the person in front of us. The excitement built as we climbed farther down. The roar of the falls and the mist in the air was intense! Everything is so green around a waterfall. The mist hangs in the air. The moss covers the rocky walls like carpet. This is what we saw...
This shot was taken by Donut about half way down the trail. The mist at the bottom of the picture is where we were headed. Right in the center of the falls is a small cave. As you climb over rocks and footholes at the base of the falls you can barely see anything. At one point, you have to hug the rocks and reach through cascading water, but you cannot see a thing. The water and mist make it almost impossible to see! Then, just when you think you are going to be rushed downstream into the swirling water, your head pokes into the tranquility behind the wall of water. Five of us sat there with a feeling of awe and excitement.
It is hard for me to put the excitement into words. While we were down in the mist, Leah summed it up for me... "Everywhere I look there are rainbows!" It is so true when you are at the base of the falls.
We must have spent a good hour and about a hundred digital photos at the falls. Eucebio showed us multiple places to jump off of rocks into swimming holes or the swirling river rapids. I wouldn't recommend it, but I Page 2
Volume 6 December 2001 had to follow him in. That is just my adventurous nature. After we climbed down the precarious trail, sat under the waterfall, jumped off rocks, and rested by the lower falls, we prepared ourselves for the long trek back UP the trail. Instead, Eucebio said "let's take the stairs!" There is a crude stairwell that leads up to the parking lot. If you take it down to the falls you miss the beauty. But, they sure are a treat after working so hard on the way down.
Thank You Eucebio! Not only did he take us to Pulhapanzak, guide us around the falls, almost drown while showing Greg where to jump off rocks, but he also drove us to Lake Yojoa.
Lago de Yojoa - Lake Yojoa About an hour south of San Pedro Sula and three hours north of Tegucigalpa (Dad, just call it TEGUSS) is a lake. Now, when you live in the second largest city of Honduras, it is exciting to find a tranquil place to hang out for a weekend. We found such a place!
pic by Donut
Page 3